FANCY COLOURED ORANGE DIAMONDS

Fancy Coloured Orange Diamonds are one of nature’s greatest abnormalities and in his respected book "The Great Diamonds of the World," published by world famous gemologist Edwin Streeter in 1882 he referred to Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds as "fire diamonds". This stunning diamonds certainly live up to this powerful name.

The GIA very rarely grades a diamond as being ‘pure’ orange. This means that a pure orange diamond is an extremely rare find and is therefore considered the ultimate possession for diamond collectors and investors In fact it is widely accepted that Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds that are graded as ‘pure’ are rarer than elusive red diamonds!

Where Are Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds Found?

Most Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are found in either the famous Argyle mine in Western Australia or in South Africa.

What Gives Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds Their Colour?

The unique colouration of Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds is created by the presence of nitrogen within the diamond. Scientists believe that nitrogen atoms are grouped in a hyper-specific way whilst the diamond is forming and when situated in a particular arrangement, they absorb blue and some yellow light, thus producing an orange appearance.

The vast majority of Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are classified as Type 1b. This is because nitrogen atoms are not assembled in groups of two, three or four atoms as in Type 1a diamonds. Instead, nitrogen is scattered as individual atoms.

Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are classified by the GIA in seven intensities: faint orange, very light orange, light orange, fancy, fancy intense orange, fancy vivid orange and fancy deep orange. The most desired hues are fancy vivid and fancy deep. The vast majority of diamonds in the Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond family are considered dark in tone and are weak to moderate in terms of saturation.

As the colour orange is naturally a mixture of the primary colours red and yellow, it is very common to see strong modifiers in orange diamond. Therefore Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds range from brown-orange to yellow-orange, with most stones having a brown or brownish colour appearance to the naked eye. However it should be noted that to be classified as a Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond there must be an absence of brown within the diamond.

In terms of the colour scale orange is in close proximity to yellow. Typically the modifying colours within Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds in which the orange is the secondary colour are brown, yellow or pink. In cases where the diamond’s colour is less than 25% orange, it will be deemed "orangey" instead. So for example the GIA classify the overtone shades as: Fancy Vivid Yellow Orange, Vivid Yellow Orange, Fancy Deep Brown Orange, Deep Brown Orange, and Fancy Orangey Pink. A pure fancy vivid orange diamond or vivid orange with a slight yellowish tone (i.e. vivid yellowish orange diamond) is sometimes referred to as "pumpkin diamond" due to the obvious comparison in colour with a pumpkin.

Are Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds Rare And Expensive And Are They A Good Investment?

Whilst orange is not one of the rarest colours to be found in Natural Fancy Coloured Diamonds, the GIA rarely grades a diamond as "pure" orange, as they mostly occur with a secondary colour tone. Because of this Pure Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are exceptionally rare which makes them highly desirable for collectors and investors. In fact pure orange diamonds are regarded almost as rare as fancy red diamonds and as being rarer than green, pink, or blue diamonds.

The cost and desirability of Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds is largely dependent upon the intensity of their hue. The order of increasing rarity, and value for these diamonds is graded as being faint orange, very light orange, light orange, fancy orange, fancy intense orange, fancy deep orange or fancy vivid orange.

From the position of the true diamond connoisseur or an investor looking for a high return, the factor which holds back the price of these beautiful diamonds is that as stated previously, orange is not a primary colour within these stones. They therefore tend to prefer to collect/invest in red, blue and green diamonds to Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds. That said, as pure Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are rarely discovered when one is offered to the market or at auction it generates substantial interest from collectors.

Are There any Famous Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds?

Due to their scarcity historically there have been very few fancy vivid orange diamonds sold at auction and they have all weighed less than 6 carats. That is with one exception when a breath taking beauty recently came to light that had been part of a private collection of an anonymous owner for over 30 years until it was revealed to the public –‘The Orange’ a fancy vivid orange diamond with VS1 clarity.‘The Orange’ is heralded as a ‘miracle of nature’ as the GIA rarely sees a Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond that exceeds 4 carats when polished, yet ‘The Orange’ weighed in at a magnificent 14.82 carats - nearly four times the normal size!

Most Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds are classified as Type 1b; however the GIA established that ‘The Orange’ diamond is one exception to this rule. This superb orange diamond broke all records when it was auctioned by Christie's of Geneva. Christie's predicted that it would fetch between $17 million and $20 million, but this absolutely stunning diamond massively surpassed their expectations when it auctioned for $35.5 million dollars, equivalent to $2.4 million per carat!

Prior to the discovery of ‘The Orange’, the largest vivid Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond was the ‘Pumpkin Diamond’. This diamond which has the rare grading of vivid orange from the GIA weighs in at 5.54-carat and was discovered in Central Africa. It was then cut and polished by the acclaimed master diamond cutter William Goldberg. It is widely held that The Pumpkin was very much responsible for the surge in interest in Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds that started in the late 1990s.

The Pumpkin was set into a ring between two smaller colourless diamonds and was publicly acclaimed across the world when it when it was worn at the 2002 Academy Awards by the American actress Halle Berry when she collect the award for Best Actress. The following year it was featured in the Smithsonian's "Splendour of Diamonds" exhibition.

Do Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds Look Good As Jewellery?

Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds make a stunning addition to any jewellery collection with their mesmerising and dramatic range of colours and hues. From lively citrus to warming amber they look good within any jewellery setting and suit both women and men’s jewellery giving a masculine edge to items such as cuff links or a man’s bracelet or pendant.

Where Can I Buy Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond Jewellery?

For the very finest selection of Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamond Jewellery look no further than the specialists at Rêve Diamonds of Hatton Garden, London. We offer one of the widest selections of stunning pieces featuring Fancy Coloured Loose Orange Diamonds to suit every budget and taste.